AWARDS
>>
s selected by Martin Holmes
We are di erent at GPWeek. We are not going
to devote all our attention to the man who has
won six successive world championship rally
titles. There cannot be many untold stories
about Loeb at all.
For this moment I am swinging the spotlight
round onto Dani Sordo, Loeb's number two
driver, the man who has still never had a chance
to step onto the top level of the podium.
Fourteen second places is of course an all-
time record and all this has been achieved by a
driver who is still only 26 years old.
Dani and Jari Matti Latvala are members
of the young generation. Until Latvala came
along, nobody younger than 24 years 3 months
had ever won a world rally, but of course the
world has moved on and drivers have got
younger.
What made me laugh during the year was
an interview with Dani in Australia, with his co-
driver Marc Marti. I asked about how a co-driver
in his 40s could work with such a youngster:
"It really took some adjustment, and after my
rallying time with Carlos Sainz (more than four
years older) I did not know if I could adjust. But
I did, though what was a huge surprise was his
appetite. How is it that somebody can eat so
many sandwiches in a day?"
What I really haven't unearthed is to what
extent Sordo is satisfied with his lot in life,
knowing that his position in the sport is to cover
the back of Loeb, or whether he really cannot
stand it all any more.
What I have discovered however is that team
director Olivier Quesnel has his own opinions:
"There is only one way in which I could ever
fault Dani. He is just not nasty enough. But I
really like having him in the team!"
3 -- Dani Sordo
One person in the sport that one keeps
on wanting to know more about is Martin
Prokop, the man from Jihlava.
This year he was the only driver to tackle
both Junior and Production car championships,
which this year meant every event, a task he
had tackled before and been plagued by errors.
But this year it all worked out fine -- gold in
Junior, silver in Production Car.
The really nice thing about the Prokop team is
the family spirit. Sister Petra is his manager. She
holds Martin on a tight rein, makes sure things
happen, and endeared me when I decided to
interview Martin in their motorhome. She came
into the seating area, went to a cupboard and
provided a whole basket full of delightful Czech
home-made cakes. She said she only produced
them for special occasions.
The highways and byways of Czech republic
and neighbouring countries are dotted with
the red and white Jipocar trucks, the Prokop
family business concern, a sort of mini Stobart
operation, and are all part of the present day
scene in Czech Republic.
I suppose the reason I am fond of Martin and
everything he has achieved is precisely that --
the country itself. Martin is the first world rally
champion from one of the eastern countries of
Europe. These things have been achieved by
people in recent years the hard way.
His success is all part of the Czech success
invasion in the sport in 2009, but Prokop and
Skoda have nothing to do with each other. They
have achieved their successes by themselves.
4 -- Martin Prokop
To choose Matthew, son of M-Sport
chief Malcolm Wilson, as one of my
favourite drivers of the season may
seem unexpected, but I very much
like what he does in the sport.
I like his lack of pretentiousness,
his permanently happy countenance,
his enthusiasm for everything he
does, be it motoring, cycling or
whatever. I like the happy family
atmosphere of the Wilsons together
and his enduring compatibility and
friendship with his co-driver Scott
Martin.
In a world where the media
expects intrigue, double-dealing,
stabbing in the back and political
skullduggery, here is a family in the
forefront of the business making the
most of the chance of doing what
they love.
One thing which few people really
appreciate is the background of
the way Matthew recovered from
his horrific crash some years ago,
in a virtual double-take on what
happened to his father at curiously
the same time of their careers.
Rallying demands a wide range
of participants. There are places
for absolute winners, good guys,
worthy and responsible citizens
and people who are just who they
are. Matthew represents the decent
side of British youth, which cannot
have been unnoticed by the Stobart
people, who continue to be proud
of everything the young driver
achieves.
5 -- Matthew Wilson
51